Salivary gland tumors in maxillofacial region: a retrospective study of 130 cases in a southern Iranian population

Abstract

Tumors of the salivary glands are uncommon head and neck neoplasia. We conducted a retrospective study of 392 cases over the last 6 years in Shiraz, south of Iran, to investigate the clinicopathological features of these tumors in Iranian population. The age of the patients ranged from 8 to 85 years, with the mean age 44.57 ± 14.65 years and male-to-female (M : F) ratio was 1.02 : 1. For benign tumors, there was a propensity towards females, whereas the malignant tumor was more common in males. The ratio of benign tumors to malignancies was 2.19 : 1. Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) was the most common tumor and accounted for 85% of all benign tumors, followed by Warthin's tumor (8.6%). Of the 125 malignancies, adenoid cystic carcinoma (40%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (24%) and invasive squamous cell carcinoma (16%) were the most common histological types. Most of the salivary gland tumors (75%) originated from major salivary glands and the remained (25%) originated from minor glands. The parotid gland was the most common site both in benign and malignant tumors. Most of our findings were similar to those in the literature, with some variations. The salivary tumors slightly predominated in males. Adenoid cystic carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma constituted the most common malignancies.

Figure 1

Benign mixed tumor (pleomorphic adenoma) with a biphasic admixture of epithelium and stroma (H&E ×200).

Figure 2

High-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma composed of squamous with few intermediate and clear cells (H&E ×200).

Figure 3

Adenoid cystic carcinoma, nests of cells of rather bland appearance are arranged concentrically around gland-like spaces (H&E ×200).